Kashmir unrest not about 'azadi' but religious extremism: Govt

Says separatists facing irrelevance; also rues the waning influence of Sufism

Top government sources on Thursday said the latest protests in Kashmir pose an unprecedented challenge, as they were no longer for azadi, or separatism, but were inspired by religious extremism.

Some of the seniormost government sources on Thursday gave their assessment of the situation in Kashmir. They said the recent unrest was qualitatively different from those in 2008 and 2010. According to them, the influence of Sufism has waned in the Kashmir Valley.  Wahabi Islam has religious extremists and they held sway during the past 70-odd days of unrest. They said the separatists were facing irrelevance, as the recent protests